


Celestia Festia

by hazel333



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bad Flirting, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Canon Universe, Disaster Lance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay Disaster Keith (Voltron), Getting Together, Holidays, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Hunk (Voltron), altean holiday, altean legends, canon complient, set in s1 or s2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-19 23:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17610881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazel333/pseuds/hazel333
Summary: “Are those space pants? Because your butt is out of this world.”Hunk wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry.During an Altean holiday based off of a romantic legend, Keith and Lance make a bet to see who can successfully confess to their crushes first.





	Celestia Festia

**Author's Note:**

> This is for [Dex](http://totesunrepentant.tumblr.com/) as part of the Monsters and Merriment exchange. I hope you like it! ^^  
> Also, a special thanks to Cara for helping me name the Altean holiday!

               Waking up to Coran screeching through the Castle intercom system was not a pleasant way to start the day.

               Hunk stumbled into the control room, desperately rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Glancing around the room revealed five blurs-pink, green, red, black, and blue. The blue blur had orange where its head should be, telling Hunk that the blue belonged to Coran, not Lance. Hunk yawned and leaned onto the red blur beside him, which grunted in surprise but did not protest.

               The black blur- _Shiro_ , Hunk’s subconscious supplied-was asking Coran what was going on. Their conversation filtered in out as Hunk began to doze off. Just as he was fading from consciousness, his pillow moved. Hunk snapped his head up, snorting loudly. He blinked twice, vision finally clearing. All eyes were turned on him. Hunk shuffled his feat, his cheeks burning. “Uh… so are we under attack? Or…?”

               “It’s Celestia Festia!” Coran cried, waving a red banner with Altean words. It was at this point that Hunk realized that Coran was not wearing his usual garb, but a set of armor with large shoulder pads. On his head he wore a tall hat, and a cape flowed behind him.

               “Uh…”

               “It’s an ancient Altean holiday,” Allura explained. “A long time ago, there was a king who fell in love with a village girl, and they became betrothed. Not long after, however, the young girl was captured by a dreki.”

               “What’s a dreki?” Pidge interrupted, adjusting her glasses.

               “A dreki is a horrid beast!” Coran shouted, waving his arms with each syllable. “It has long pointed teeth and enormous talons that could cut you in half with one swipe! Its body is covered in hideous scales the color of mud, with two large wings towering above-”

               “So it’s a dragon,” Pidge supplied.

               Coran huffed as Allura smiled. “I am not sure what a ‘dragon’ is, but I think you understand the idea. After the dreki captured the young Altean, the king went after her. He was forced to fight the dangerous beast all alone, and he was gravelly injured in the process. His beloved made a tonic out of the dreki’s blood-”

               “Out of it’s _blood?_ ” Hunk asked, horror pitching his voice an octave.

               “Uh, yes,” Allura turned to the yellow paladin. “A dreki’s blood has healing properties. They used to be hunted in Altea for medicinal purposes. But back to the story. The young girl used Dreki’s blood to heal the king, and they returned home safely and married soon after.” Allura finished the story with a wide smile and sparkling eyes. She sighed softly. “It’s a very romantic tale, and holiday. Back in Altea, we used to celebrate by spending the day with our loved ones. There was a special family dinner, and we all drank a sugary concoction that was supposed to represent the dreki’s blood.” Allura’s happy expression slowly crumbled, leaving behind downturned lips and wistful eyes.

               The paladins glanced at each other. Hunk was surprised when Keith spoke up. “That…sounds like fun?” The words came out as more of a question then a statement, and Hunk watched as Keith turned to Shiro for help.

               Hunk glanced back at the princess, and he was shocked to see her hopeful expression turn mischievous. “Thank you, Keith. I think we could all use a break and a morale boost, so why don’t we celebrate!”

               Coran jumped to attention. “I’ll begin the preparations for the feast right away!” The older Altean rushed out of the room, cape trailing behind him.

               The paladins took this as their cue to leave, so they all turned towards the door. They all paused when Allure let out an, “Oh!”

               The princess smiled at them. “I forgot to tell you about another tradition. It is believed that if you confess your love on this day, you will have extra luck.” Blue eyes flickered towards Keith and Shiro briefly, and Hunk felt a smile grow on his face.

               Before the paladins could respond, the door opened behind them. Lance, face still shining from his morning skin care routine, walked into the room. “What did I miss?”

* * *

               “Bet I could confess first.”

               Keith rolled his eyes. “You tell Allura that you like her practically every other day. Besides, who would I confess to?”

               “Shiro,” both Lance and Hunk spoke in unison.

               Keith’s ears grew bright red. He turned away with an angry grumble.

               “Sorry man,” Hunk told him, “but you’re pretty obvious about it.”

               The three boys were sitting in the common area. Allura had recruited Pidge in Shiro in decorating for the special dinner, and the other three paladins had been kicked out of the room.

               Lance grimaced. “You two are so gross, dude. Between the constant touching, and the _looks-”_

               Keith snapped back, “Like you look at Pidge?”

               The room went silent.

               Hunk’s eyes widened, and he alternated between staring at Keith and Lance, who were staring at each other.

               Lance broke the silence with a genuine laugh. “ _Pidge?_ What the quiznack, Keith?”

               “Oh.” Hunk spoke the word without realizing it. Lance didn’t know.

               “You…” Keith tilted his head. “You actually don’t realize it.”

               “Realize what?”

               “That you’re in love with Pidge.”

               “…what?” Lance narrowed his eyes. “That isn’t funny, dude.”

               “Lance,” Hunk spoke up, “Think about it. You guys do the touchy thingy too. And the eye thing. Oh, and don’t forget the smile thing!”

               “Who’s the first person you go to when you get an idea or find out something interesting?” Keith asked.

               “Pidge,” Lance replied immediately. “But that’s because she’s my best friend!” he added.

               “Dude, I’m right here,” Hunk said, his hand on his chest in mock hurt.

               Lance ignored him. “I don’t have a crush on Pi…” Lance trailed of, his eyes glazing over. Hunk could almost see the gears turning in Lance’s head as the blue paladin’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh. I’m in love with Pidge.”

               “Congratulating on noticing,” Keith said, voice dry an unimpressed.

               “I’m in love with Pidge,” Lance repeated.

               “Yes,” Hunk replied.

               “I’m in lov-”

               “I think we broke him,” Keith told Hunk, who nodded in agreement.

               “I have to tell her,” Lance declared, standing up.

               “That escalated quickly,” Hunk noted.

               “It’s the perfect day to do it!” Lance reasoned. “We get special luck from Celestial Festia, right?” Lance whipped around to face Keith. “You have to tell Shiro.”

               “Absolutely not.”

               “Absolutely _yes_. When else are you going to get the extra luck so that not even you can screw it up?”

               “ _Excuse me?_ ”

               Hunk wished he had popcorn.

               “If anyone is going to screw this up,” Keith said as he stood up, “it’s you. There is no way Pidge is just going to except your confession after you’ve been flirting with Allura for months.”

               “Yeah, well…” Lance struggled to find a comeback. “You’ve been pining forever, probably back in the Garrison!”

               “So what?”

               “So, I don’t think you have to guts to say anything if you haven’t already!”

               “ _You-_ ”

* * *

               About a month ago, Hunk had stumbled upon some purple seeds in the kitchen. They greatly resembled popcorn kernels in shape, and to Hunk’s delight, when heated they puffed up just like popcorn. He hid the seeds in his room and was saving them for a special occasion.

               Hunk plopped down beside Allura, who was taking a break from the preparations, and offered her some purple popcorn.

               After Shiro had walked into the room and broke up the fight between Keith and Lance, he had told them that Allura wanted their help in setting up the dining room. Apparently, there was a special seating arrangement for the feast, as well as some large decorations that would need two people to lift.

               On the way to the dining room, the two had decided in whispers that whoever successfully confessed to their crush first could boss the other around for a day. It didn’t matter if their crush said yes or no, they just had to understand that Keith or Lance was romantically interested in them.

               And Hunk was determined to enjoy the scenes that ensued with some good ol’ popcorn.

               “Hey, Pidge,” Lance began as they moved chairs around. “Are you German? ‘Cause I wanna be Ger-man!”

               Pidge’s chair slipped through her hands as her cheeks grew a dark red. Behind her, Shiro whipped around to glare at Lance, who remained oblivious.

               “It’s handy that I have my library card, because I’m totally checking you out.”

               Hunk heard Keith whisper, “Oh my gosh.”

               Beside him, Allura winced. “He is truly terrible at this, isn’t he?” she whispered.

               “Yep.”

               Lance continued, “Do you-”

               Without any warning, Pidge lifted the chair she was holding and swung it straight into Lance’s stomach. He gasped, the breath leaving him. The chair fell to the ground with a loud clank, and Lance followed suit as he continued gasping for breath. Pidge left the room without looking back.

               “ _Wow._ ”

               “Shut up, Mullet. At least I tried.”

               “Maybe you shouldn’t have.”

               “Pidge is stronger than she looks,” Hunk noted with sympathy.

               “I know,” Lance wheezed.

               Shiro’s gaze flickered between the two, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

               “Perhaps I should go check on her,” Allura suggested, standing up.

               “That’s a good idea, Princess.” Shiro nodded an agreement, before turning with arms folded to look down at Lance. “What was that?”

               “What…was what?” Lanced gasped, still trying to catch his breath.

               Shiro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please…behave today.”

               Lance lifted his hand in a weak thumbs up.

               Shiro pursed his lips. He turned around. “I’m going to go check on Allura and Pidge while you three finish up here.” He nodded at Hunk as he passed him.

               “Shiro, wait!” Keith called, and Shiro paused at the door. Keith continued, ears burning red, “I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch later?”

               Hunk held his breath as confusion flickered across Shiro’s face. Then the black paladin laughed. “Of course, Keith. I’m sure Coran will let us into the kitchen long enough for everyone to get some space goo.”

               “Oh, okay.” Keith deflated, shrinking in on himself.

               If Shiro noticed, he didn’t comment on it. He simply lifted his hand in goodbye and left the room.

               Lance cackled from where he lay on the floor.

* * *

               Lunch was awkward.

               Pidge was giving Lance the silent treatment, ignoring every compliment and casual conversation he threw her way. Keith was deep in thought, eyebrows furred and eyes glaring at the space goo in front of him. Shiro kept glancing at Keith with worried looks, opening his mouth to say something before closing it, having changed his mind. Allura looked like she was ready to pull her hair out at any moment.

               Hunk sighed. He kicked Lance in the shin, stopping his friend mid-sentence. Pidge raised an eyebrow at Hunk, which Hunk returned with an innocent smile. She shrugged and turned to ask Allura a question.

               Lane glared at Hunk, who rolled his eyes. Hunk mouthed to him, _Ask her about the upgrades on Green_.

               Lance tilted his head with a thoughtful frown. He nodded. “Hey, Pidge!”

               Hunk could hear the poor girl grind her teeth. “ _Yes_ , Lance,” she gritted out.

               “Hunk was telling me that you put some more upgrades on Green. Wanna show me?” He shot her dazzling grin.

               Pidge pursed her lips. “Sure,” she finally replied, standing up.

               “Great!” Lance jumped up, sliding his plate forward. He bounced after her towards the door.

               Just as they were leaving, Pidge added, “I need to test out a new blaster. You can be my target.”

               Hunk and Allura shared an amused glance.

               “Well,” Shiro said, standing up, “I need to go look at some plans the Blades sent me.” With a smile and a wave, he walked towards the door.

               “Shiro!” Keith called suddenly, shooting out of his seat and slamming his hands down on the table.

               Shiro paused mid-stride. “Uh, yes, Keith?”

               Eyes glistening with determination, Keith marched towards Shiro with large strides before coming to a stop right in front of the man. “Do you want to have dinner tonight? Together? Just the two of us, not the other paladins. Or Alteans,” Keith babbled.

               Shiro’s eyebrows scrunched up. “We have the special Altean dinner tonight for Celestia Festia?” Shiro replied, confusion evident in his voice.

               Keith took a step back. “Oh. Yeah. That’s right…” The light in his eyes dimmed. He let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry, I guess I forgot. You can ignore all of that.” He sidestepped around Shiro. “I’m just going to go now.” He whipped around to run out of the room, but he faceplanted straight into the wall instead.

               “Keith!” Shiro cried, catching the red paladin before he could hit the floor.

               “’M ‘kay,” Keith muttered, ears bright red and cheeks tinged pink.

               Hunk facepalmed, Allura groaned.

* * *

               The five paladins met in the common area to finish the last of the decorating, while Allura was assisting Coran in the kitchen. Keith had a bandage wrapped around his head, courtesy of Shiro after he had insisted that Keith go to the med bay. Lance had a bandage on his arm, courtesy of Pidge after she had shot him with her new blaster.

               Hunk was actually impressed. Apparently Pidge shooting Lance had cleared the air between them, and they were back to joking and nudging each other. Hunk caught Keith’s eye, and he was met with a wild desperation that he was taken aback by.

               Oh, right. The bet.

               Hunk searched his mind for any advice he could give the red paladin, but Keith turned away before he could come up with something. Hunk watched as Keith marched over to Shiro, who was reaching up to pin a banner on the wall. Hunk felt his heart sink as a horrible feeling settled into his chest.

“Are those space pants? Because your butt is out of this world.”

               Hunk wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry.

               Keith's face turned bright red. His jaw clenched, and his mouth turned down in a regret-filled grimace. Shiro visibly tensed. He slowly turned around, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed into a thin line. Behind them, Pidge and Lance were on the ground, laughing so hard that tears streamed down their faces.

               "Keith?" Shiro began, and the red paladin caved in on himself. "Did you just...use a pickup line on me?"

               Keith, his face firmly aimed at the floor, shuffled his feet. "M-Maybe?"

               Lance wheezed, and Pidge choked.

               Shiro sighed. He put his hands on his hips and turned to address the room sternly, "I don’t know what’s going on with you two, Lance and Keith, but this holiday is really important to Allura. I'm honestly disappointed in how you would disrespect it like this! Especially you, Keith. I expected better from you."

               Shiro left the room, not seeing the grief-stricken look on Keith's face.

               Hunk was going to cry.

* * *

               "Dude, I can't believe you just said that to Shiro!" Lance shouted as he plopped down beside Keith on the bed. "That was a total bust!"

               Keith scowled. He snapped back, "It’s not like you’re doing any better! You and Pidge are back to how you were!"

               Lance scooted away, sputtering. "W-Well, I just came to terms with my feelings! You've been pining for years!"

               "And you think that makes it any easier for me?!"

               "Guys, please," Hunk pleaded, sitting on the other side of Keith’s bed. After Keith’s disaster, the three boys had decided to regroup in Keith’s room, the cleanest out of the three. "You still have the rest of the night."

               "What if we both give up on this stupid bet?" Keith suggested. "Then neither of us lose."

               "For once, Mullet, you have a good-"

               "Actually," Hunk interrupted, "You would both lose, making me the winner."

               "What, no way!" Lance protested, and Keith turned his glare towards Hunk. Lance continued, "You're not a part of the bet!"

               Hunk shrugged. "Yeah, but if we have to go through another day of you two obviously pining after Shiro and Pidge, Allura might actually lose it. She almost strangled the four of you at lunch. And you may not have noticed, but she's been pairing you guys off on missions on purpose." The two boys gaped at Hunk, who added, "Also, your love lives are pretty entertaining, and I am now personally invested in seeing how this goes."

               Lance’s jaw snapped back shut, and he narrowed his eyes to give Hunk a glare. "I hate all of you. Everyone on this stupid castle. My best friend has betrayed me, the beautiful alien princess I've been flirting with has been trying to hook me up with my team mate-"

               "Who you're obviously in love with."

               "-Silence, ex-best friend. My hero apparently has an atrocious taste in men, and the only one on my side is my greatest rival."

               "We're not rivals, Lance."

               "I despise everyone on this castle," Lance concluded.

               "Except Pidge," Hunk added.

               "Except Pidge," Lance conceded. "Wait-"

               Keith snorted and, Hunk laughed. "Dude, you’re so gone," Hunk informed Lance.

               Lance hung his head in his hands with a groan. "Traitors, all of you!"

               "Honestly, though," Hunk said, "I'm surprised you guys didn't notice Allura's attempts earlier."

               Keith shrugged. "I just thought she was being tactical. Shiro and I work best together, and that leaves Pidge with Lance when she's not with you."

               “I resent the fact that that implies Pidge and I aren’t good partners,” Lance stated.

               Keith shrugged. “Shiro and I are better.”

               “Absolutely not. Pidge and I are-”

               “Hey!” Hunk interjected, speaking loud to drown out their argument, “I think it’s time for Coran’s dinner. We should head down there.”

               “This isn’t over,” Lance informed Keith as the exited the room.

               “Whatever.”

               Dinner itself was better than Hunk expected, for which he was very grateful. The tan pastry puffed up like a mushroom, and when Hunk poked it with his fork, the dome deflated, causing blue goo to ooze out. Hunk lifted a spoonful of goo to his mouth expecting blueberry, but what he got was a salty flavor similar to gravy. It was really weird, but like everything else in space, he took it in stride.

               Afterwards, they all accepted the glass of red liquid meant to resemble dreki’s blood. Hunk was reminded of the artificial strawberry flavoring used in candies and snow cones on Earth. Taking their drinks with them, everyone gathered into the decorated common area and settled into the couches. Lance plopped down beside Pidge, who glanced at him sideways. Hunk held back a grin at the girl’s obvious weariness. Hunk took a seat on the opposite side, and Allura sat beside him. That left Keith and Shiro beside Pidge and Lance. Hunk glanced at Allura. The Altean winked at him, and he bit back a smile.

               Coran pushed a button, and a screen popped up. Everyone adjusted themselves to face the right direction as the movie, based on the legend surrounding Celestial Festia, began.

               Lance yawned obnoxiously, stretching his arm and settling it behind Pidge. The green paladin sighed with long suffering, and Shiro whispered, "Lance," in warning.

               Hunk turned to look towards Shiro and caught Keith's eye. He gave him a pointed look, and Keith scowled back. After a short hesitation, Keith carefully placed his hand on top of Shiro's. When Shiro didn't respond, Keith linked their fingers together. Shiro glanced at him in surprise, but Keith, face as red as his lion, kept his eyes on the movie. Hunk watched as the gleam in Shiro's eyes morphed from surprise, to fondness, to hope. The yellow paladin elbowed Allura. With a subtle nod, he gestured to the pair holding hands. Allura but her lip in a poor attempt to hide a smile.

               The movie was fairly good, but Hunk was too distracted by the scenes around him to pay attention. Pidge had elbowed Lance until he had moved his arm. The blue paladin had then tried to hold her hand, but she had shot him such a vicious glare that he had immediately let go.

               Lance turned to Hunk with a defeated expression. _What am I doing wrong?_ he mouthed.

               Hunk pressed his lips together in a thin line. _She doesn't think your serious._ he mouthed back.

_How do I fix that??_

_Be yourself._

               Lance gestured wildly, conveying confusion and frustration. Coran shushed him, and Pidge rolled her eyes before scooting away from him. Lance hung his head, resembling a kicked dog with its tail between its legs.

               Keith, on the other hand, had made great progress. Shiro had placed his arm on the couch pillow behind Keith, and Keith had leaned into Shiro's side. They were cuddling, and Hunk wished he could take a picture.

               They made it through about half way through the movie before Pidge exploded.

               The young girl jumped up and whirled around to face Lance. "Whatever it is you think you're doing, stop."

               "Uh..." Lance fidgeted as Coran stopped the video.

               "And _you_ -" Pidge turned to point a finger at Keith, but she stopped when her eyes landed on him and Shiro. "Oh..."

               The two were both blushing. Shiro lifted his arm off of Keith, but Keith held on to his hand with a stubborn defiance, jaw clenched and eyes steeled.

               Unable to stand the pressure mounting in the room, Hunk blurted out, "Lance and Keith decided to see who could confess their love first by the end of the day in honor of Celestial Festia."

               There was a moment of intense silence. Then Pidge rounded on Lance. "Why did you choose me for your stupid game?!"

               "It wasn't a game!" Lance argued.

               "Keith?" Shiro voice was soft, and his face guarded.

               Keith looked down to study their intertwined fingers. "Celestial Festia is supposed to give you extra luck when confessing, isn't it?" was all he said.

               Shiro blinked twice. "Keith..." he breathed. His eyes turned soft as Keith looked up at him.

               "So you're telling me," Pidge interrupted harshly, "is that Lance was flirting with me because he likes me?" She scoffed. "As if."

               "Pidge."

               She turned to look at Lance and froze. Her eyes widened like a deer's before headlights as he gave her a soft smile that shone with genuine affection.

               "This is so much better than the movie!" Allura squealed, shattering the mood.

               Hunk winced. "Allura..."

               "I'm so glad you're amused, Princess," Pidge snapped. "I'm going to my lab." She marched towards the door, only pausing to snarl, “Come on, Lance.”

               Lance blinked. Then he scrambled to follow her, nearly knocking over his drink that was still on the table.

               "Well, I think Keith and I are going to head towards the observation deck," Shiro said without taking his eyes off of Keith. Keith gave him a small smile, and they walked out of the room hand in hand.

               "What about the movie??" Coran protested.

               "I'll finish it with you, Coran," Allura offered, a smug grin lining her lips.

               As the movie started up again, Hunk commented, "I hope that Keith and Lance will be distracted enough to forget about the competition, seeing as they kinda confessed at the same time."


End file.
